2023 Houston Dynamo FC season

The 2023 Houston Dynamo season was the 18th season of the team's existence since joining Major League Soccer (MLS) prior to the 2006 season. The Dynamo missed the playoffs in 2022 for the eighth time in nine years.

Houston Dynamo

2023 season
Owner	Ted Segal
General manager	Pat Onstad
Head coach	Ben Olsen
Stadium	Shell Energy Stadium
MLS	Conference: 4th Overall: 9th
MLS Cup Playoffs	Conference Finals
U.S. Open Cup	Winners
Leagues Cup	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Amine Bassi: 10 goals All: Amine Bassi: 15 goals
Highest home attendance	20,319 (11/26 v. SKC
Lowest home attendance	All: 2,947 (5/23 v. MIN, USOC) League: 10,873 (8/30 v. CLB)
Average home league attendance	15,029[1]
Biggest win	HOU 5–0 POR (8/20)
Biggest defeat	VAN 6–2 HOU (5/31)
Home colors Away colors
← 2022 2024 →

2023 was the first season under head coach Ben Olsen, who was hired on November 8, 2022.^[2] It was the second season under GM Pat Onstad and technical director Asher Mendelsohn. It was the third season (second full season) under majority owner Ted Segal. 2023 saw the Dynamo qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017 after finishing 4th in the Western Conference. There they would advance past Real Salt Lake in the first round 2 games to 1 in a best of 3 series and defeat Sporting Kansas City 1–0 to advance to the Conference Finals, where they would fall 2–1 to LAFC. The season was highlighted by the club's second ever Open Cup title, winning 2–1 at Inter Miami in the final.

Team captain Héctor Herrera set a club record for assists in a season with 21 and was the first Dynamo player included in the MLS Best XI since Brad Davis in 2011.^[3]

Final roster

As of December 3, 2023^[4]

Appearances and goals are totals for MLS regular season only.

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from	Signed in	Apps.	Goals
Goalkeepers
12	Steve Clark		GK	April 14, 1986 (age 37)	Portland Timbers	2022	66	0
13	Andrew Tarbell		GK	October 7, 1993 (age 30)	Austin FC	2023	1	0
38	Xavier Valdez (HGP)		GK	November 23, 2003 (age 20)	Houston Dynamo Academy	2022	0	0
Defenders
2	Franco Escobar		DF	February 21, 1995 (age 28)	Los Angeles FC	2023	28	2
3	Brad Smith		DF	April 9, 1994 (age 29)	D.C. United	2023	18	1
4	Ethan Bartlow (GA)		DF	February 2, 2000 (age 23)	University of Washington	2021	42	0
5	Daniel Steres		DF	November 11, 1990 (age 33)	LA Galaxy	2022	44	4
17	Teenage Hadebe (DP)		DF	September 17, 1995 (age 28)	Yeni Malatyaspor	2021	51	3
22	Tate Schmitt		DF	May 28, 1997 (age 26)	Real Salt Lake	2023	5	1
24	Mujeeb Murana (HGP)		DF	September 23, 2000 (age 23)	Houston Dynamo 2	2023	0	0
25	Griffin Dorsey		DF	March 5, 1999 (age 24)	Toronto FC	2021	66	6
28	Erik Sviatchenko		DF	October 4, 1991 (age 32)	Midtjylland	2023	17	0
30	Chase Gasper		DF	January 25, 1996 (age 27)	LA Galaxy	2023	5	0
31	Micael		DF	August 12, 2000 (age 23)	Atlético Mineiro	2022	25	1
Midfielders
6	Artur		MF	March 11, 1996 (age 27)	Columbus Crew	2023	34	2
8	Amine Bassi		MF	November 27, 1997 (age 26)	FC Metz	2023	28	10
16	Héctor Herrera (DP)		MF	April 19, 1990 (age 33)	Atlético Madrid	2022	40	4
19	Charles Auguste		MF	November 25, 1999 (age 24)	Creighton University	2023	0	0
20	Adalberto Carrasquilla		MF	November 28, 1998 (age 25)	Cartagena	2021	67	6
27	Luis Caicedo		MF	May 18, 1996 (age 27)	Cortuluá	2023	25	0
32	Sebastian Kowalczyk		MF	August 22, 1998 (age 25)	Pogoń Szczecin	2023	8	0
35	Brooklyn Raines (HGP)		MF	March 11, 2005 (age 18)	Barça Residency Academy	2022	8	0
Forwards
7	Iván Franco		FW	April 16, 2000 (age 23)	Club Libertad	2023	26	3
11	Corey Baird		FW	January 30, 1996 (age 27)	Los Angeles FC	2021	64	10
18	Ibrahim Aliyu (U22)		FW	January 16, 2002 (age 21)	NK Lokomotiva Zagreb	2023	24	3
21	Nelson Quiñónes (U22)		FW	August 20, 2002 (age 21)	Once Caldas	2022	36	4
23	Ifunanyachi Achara		FW	September 28, 1997 (age 26)	Toronto FC	2023	0	0
34	Thorleifur Úlfarsson (GA)		FW	December 27, 2000 (age 22)	Duke University	2022	49	7

Player movement

In

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.

Date	Player	Position	Age	Previous Club	Notes	Ref
November 22, 2022	Artur	MF	26	Columbus Crew	Acquired in exchange for $200,000 in 2023 GAM, $100,000 in 2024 GAM, and a conditional $50,000 in GAM	[5]
November 23, 2022	Andrew Tarbell	GK	29	Austin FC	Signed on a free transfer	[6]
December 7, 2022	Ifunanyachi Achara	FW	25	Toronto FC	Signed on a free transfer, acquired his rights in stage 2 of the 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft on November 22, 2022	[7]
December 21, 2022	Charles Auguste	MF	23	Creighton University	Undrafted free agent	[8]
January 6, 2023	Brad Smith	DF	28	D.C. United	Signed on a free transfer	[9]
January 7, 2023	Iván Franco	FW	22	Club Libertad	Signed on loan for the 2023 season with an option to buy.	[10][11]
January 12, 2023	Franco Escobar	DF	27	LAFC	Signed on a free transfer	[12]
January 23, 2023	Amine Bassi	FW	25	FC Metz	Full transfer for an undisclosed fee. Fee is reportedly $1.5 million.	[13][14]
February 9, 2023	Djevencio van der Kust	DF	21	FC Utrecht	Signed on loan with an option to buy.	[15][16]
February 16, 2023	Micael	DF	22	Atlético Mineiro	Full transfer for an undisclosed fee. Fee is reportedly $500,000. Spent the previous season on loan to Houston Dynamo 2.	[17][18]
February 16, 2023	Mujeeb Murana	DF	22	Houston Dynamo 2	Signed as a homegrown player.	[19]
February 17, 2023	Tate Schmitt	DF	25	Real Salt Lake	Signed on a free transfer. Acquired his player rights by sending a 3rd round pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft to RSL.	[20]
February 23, 2023	Luis Caicedo	MF	26	Cortuluá	Signed on a free transfer.	[21]
March 24, 2023	Erik Sviatchenko	DF	31	Midtjylland	Full transfer for an undisclosed fee. Fee is reportedly $1,480,000.	[22][23]
April 16, 2023	Chase Gasper	DF	27	LA Galaxy	Claimed off waivers.	[24]
April 25, 2023	Ibrahim Aliyu	FW	21	NK Lokomotiva Zagreb	Full transfer for an undisclosed fee as a U-22 Initiative player. Fee is reportedly $2,300,000.	[25][26]
July 13, 2023	Nelson Quiñónes	FW	20	Once Caldas	Exercised the purchase option on the loan. Transfer fee undisclosed but is reportedly $1,250,000, with Once Caldas maintaining a 25% sell-on clause.	[27][28]
August 1, 2023	Sebastian Kowalczyk	MF	24	Pogoń Szczecin	Full transfer for an undisclosed fee. Fee is reportedly $540,000.	[29][30]

Out

Date	Player	Position	Age	Destination Club	Notes	Ref
November 7, 2022	Mateo Bajamich	FW	23	Estudiantes de Río Cuarto	Contract option declined	[31]
November 7, 2022	Ian Hoffmann	DF	21	Moss FK	Contract option declined	[31]
November 7, 2022	Marcelo Palomino	MF	21	AFC Eskilstuna	Contract option declined	[31]
November 7, 2022	Zarek Valentin	DF	31	Minnesota United	Contract option declined	[31]
November 9, 2022	Fafà Picault	FW	31	Nashville SC	Traded for $50,000 of 2023 GAM, $50,000 of 2024 GAM, and a conditional $150,000 of 2024 GAM.	[32]
November 11, 2022	Tim Parker	DF	29	St. Louis City SC	Traded for $250,000 of 2023 GAM and $250,000 of 2024 GAM. Dynamo will pay a portion of his salary for two seasons.	[33]
November 16, 2022	Darwin Quintero	FW	35	América de Cali	Contract option declined	[34]
November 16, 2022	Memo Rodriguez	MF	26	LA Galaxy	Contract option declined	[34]
November 16, 2022	Zeca	DF	28	Esporte Clube Vitória	Contract option declined	[34]
November 16, 2022	Darwin Cerén	MF	32	C.D. Águila	Contract expired	[34]
November 16, 2022	Sam Junqua	DF	26	FC Dallas	Contract expired	[34]
January 10, 2023	Adam Lundqvist	DF	28	Austin FC	Traded for $300,000 of 2023 GAM and $200,000 of 2024 GAM.	[35]
February 16, 2023	Michael Nelson	GK	28	FC Tulsa	Waived	[36]
June 30, 2023	Djevencio van der Kust	DF	22	FC Utrecht	Loan ended/returned to Utrecht	[37]
July 23, 2023	Juan Castilla	MF	18	Deportivo Cali	Sold for an undisclosed fee.	[38]

Loans out

Date	Player	Position	Age	Destination Club	Notes	Ref
January 9, 2023	Matías Vera	MF	27	Argentinos Juniors	Loaned for remainder of 2023.	[39]
March 3, 2023	Danny Ríos	FW	19	Las Vegas Lights	Loaned for remainder of 2023.	[40]
May 26, 2023	Beto Avila	FW	22	Charleston Battery	Loaned for remainder of 2023.	[41]
July 27, 2023	Sebastián Ferreira	FW	25	Vasco da Gama	Loaned for remainder of 2023.	[42]

MLS SuperDraft

See also: 2023 MLS SuperDraft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Age	College	Notes	Ref
2	34	Isaiah Reid	FW	21	Clemson	Signed with Houston Dynamo 2.	[8]
3	63	Frantz Pierrot	MF	23	Connecticut	Signed with Athlone Town.	[8]

Staff

As of December 3, 2023^{[update][43][44]}

Executive
Majority owner	Ted Segal
Minority owners	Lyle Ayes James Harden
General manager/vice president	Pat Onstad
Technical director	Asher Mendelsohn
Assistant general manager	Nick Kowba
Director of soccer operations	Francisco Tobar
Coaching staff
Head coach	Ben Olsen
Assistant coach	Brendan Burke
Assistant coach	Aurélien Collin
Assistant coach	Adin Osmanbašić
Goalkeeper coach	Tim Hanley
Head of performance	Paul Caffrey
Head video analyst	Carlon Carpenter
Head of sports science	Alex Calder
Strength & conditioning coach	Anthony Narcisi
Director of sports medicine	Craig Devine
Head athletic trainer	Matt Murphy
Assistant athletic trainer	Juan Castano
Physical therapist	Micah Kust
Massage therapist	Ivan Diaz
Scouting coordinator & analyst	Sebastian Romero
Director of methodology	Ben Bartlett
Player care manager	Martha Carvajal
Head equipment manager	Jaime Gonzalez

Friendlies

Preseason

Club América v Houston Dynamo

February 1	Club América	6–1	Houston Dynamo	Mexico City, Mexico
		Report		Stadium: Instalaciones Club América en Coapa

Tlaxcala v Houston Dynamo

February 4	Tlaxcala	0–2	Houston Dynamo	Mexico City, Mexico
		Report		Stadium: Mini Estadio de la Federación Mexicana de Futbol

UNAM Pumas v Houston Dynamo

February 7	UNAM Pumas	0–0	Houston Dynamo	Mexico City, Mexico
		Report

CF Montréal v Houston Dynamo

February 11	CF Montréal	2–2	Houston Dynamo	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
5:00 CST	Rea Ibrahim	Report	Úlfarsson Franco

Columbus Crew v Houston Dynamo

February 15	Columbus Crew	1–1	Houston Dynamo	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
	Hernández	Report	Baird (pen.)

Houston Dynamo v FC Dallas

February 18	Houston Dynamo	2–0	FC Dallas	Houston, Texas
7:30 CST	Steres 31' Baird 67' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium

Competitions

Major League Soccer

See also: 2023 Major League Soccer season

Standings

Western Conference

MLS Western Conference table (2023)

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
2	Seattle Sounders FC	34	14	9	11	41	32	+9	53	Qualification for round one
3	Los Angeles FC	34	14	10	10	54	39	+15	52
4	Houston Dynamo FC	34	14	11	9	51	38	+13	51
5	Real Salt Lake	34	14	12	8	48	50	−2	50
6	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	12	10	12	55	48	+7	48

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)

Overall

Overall MLS standings table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
7	Seattle Sounders FC	34	14	9	11	41	32	+9	53	Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32[a]
8	Los Angeles FC	34	14	10	10	54	39	+15	52
9	Houston Dynamo FC (U)	34	14	11	9	51	38	+13	51	Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One and U.S. Open Cup Round of 32[b]
10	Atlanta United FC	34	13	9	12	66	53	+13	51	Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32[a]
11	Real Salt Lake	34	14	12	8	48	50	−2	50

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) fewer disciplinary points; 6) away goal differential; 7) away goals scored; 8) home goals differential; 9) home goals scored; 10) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)
(U) U.S. Open Cup winner
Notes:

1. As one of the top seven teams in the overall table to not qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup
2. Qualify for both the Champions Cup and U.S. Open Cup as 2023 U.S. Open Cup champions

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
33	14	8	11	51	38	+13	50	11	3	2	36	11	+25	3	5	9	15	27	−12

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Stadium	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	L	L	W	W	L	W	D	W	D	L	L	D	W	L	L	W	W	W	L	L	D	L	D	W	W	W	D	D	W	L	D	D	W	W
Position (conf.)	10	14	9	8	8	7	7	6	6	7	8	10	7	9	10	7	6	4	4	7	8	8	9	6	5	4	5	5	4	4	5	6	4	4
Position (league)	20	29	21	17	18	12	14	11	13	19	20	23	17	20	21	17	13	10	11	14	16	17	19	14	13	11	12	11	10	11	12	12	10	9

Updated to match(es) played on October 23, 2023. Source: Match results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Match results

FC Cincinnati v Houston Dynamo

February 25 1	FC Cincinnati	2–1	Houston Dynamo	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 PM CST	Santos 19' Nwobodo 48' Barreal  84'	Report	Artur  10' Schmitt 45+2',  81'	Stadium: TQL Stadium Attendance: 25,513 Referee: Chris Penso

New England Revolution v Houston Dynamo

March 4 2	New England Revolution	3–0	Houston Dynamo	Foxborough, Massachusetts
7:30 PM EST	Borrero 42' Buck  46' Wood 53' Bye 65' Jones  88'	Report	Dorsey  18' Carrasquilla  24' Clark  37' Bartlow  87'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 13,176 Referee: Fotis Bazakos

Houston Dynamo v Austin FC

March 18 3 Copa Tejas	Houston Dynamo	2–0	Austin FC	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Franco  59' Bassi 71' (pen.) Herrera 86'	Report	Väisänen  19' Fagúndez  52' Lundqvist  70'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 19,047 Referee: Drew Fischer

Houston Dynamo v New York City FC

March 25 4	Houston Dynamo	1–0	New York City FC	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Artur  18' Bassi 55' (pen.) Dorsey  90'	Report	Parks  29' Rodríguez  55' Gray  90+3' Barraza  90+9'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 13,024 Referee: Guido Gonzalez Jr.

San Jose Earthquakes v Houston Dynamo

April 1 5	San Jose Earthquakes	2–1	Houston Dynamo	San Jose, California
9:30 PM CDT	Espinoza 7' (pen.), 65' (pen.) Mensah  17' Akapo  33' Monteiro  59'	Report	Bassi 42' (pen.) Artur  44' Escobar  64'	Stadium: PayPal Park Attendance: 12,786 Referee: Tori Penso

Houston Dynamo v LA Galaxy

April 8 6	Houston Dynamo	3–0	LA Galaxy	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Herrera 35',  27'  90+5' Bassi  42', 65' (pen.), 73' Caicedo  77'	Report	Cáceres  34'  63' Edwards  61' Brugman  64' Costa  90+7'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 19,128 Referee: Alex Chilowicz

New York Red Bulls v Houston Dynamo

April 15 7	New York Red Bulls	1–1	Houston Dynamo	Harrison, New Jersey
6:30 PM CDT	Tolkin  14' Duncan  66' Fernandez 89'	Report	Escobar  25' Carrasquilla 67' Caicedo  82'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 12,932 Referee: Ramy Touchan

Houston Dynamo v Inter Miami

April 22 8	Houston Dynamo	1–0	Inter Miami	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Steres 72'	Report	Negri  34'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 16,045 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

Houston Dynamo v Real Salt Lake

May 6 9	Houston Dynamo	0–0	Real Salt Lake	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Escobar  57' Quiñónes  90+1'	Report	Glad  45' Oviedo  83'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 13,793 Referee: Lukasz Szpala

Houston Dynamo v Seattle Sounders

May 13 10	Houston Dynamo	0–1	Seattle Sounders	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Bassi  21' Herrera  58'  78' Bartlow  90+6'	Report	Lodeiro  62' Ragen  64' Rothrock 87'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 14,061 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

Minnesota United v Houston Dynamo

May 17 11	Minnesota United	1–0	Houston Dynamo	Saint Paul, Minnesota
7:30 PM CDT	Hlongwane 14'  40' Trapp  30' Dotson  67'	Report	Micael  50'	Stadium: Allianz Field Attendance: 18,897 Referee: Marcos de Oliveira

FC Dallas v Houston Dynamo

May 20 12 Texas Derby	FC Dallas	1–1	Houston Dynamo	Frisco, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Obrian 53'	Report	Gasper  25' Úlfarsson 85' Escobar  90+2'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 19,096 Referee: Victor Rivas

Houston Dynamo v Austin FC

May 27 13 Copa Tejas	Houston Dynamo	2–1	Austin FC	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Herrera 37' Quiñónes  67' Franco 87' Micael  90+3'	Report	Zardes 22' Cascante  30'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 16,055 Referee: Ted Unkel

Vancouver Whitecaps v Houston Dynamo

May 31 14	Vancouver Whitecaps	6–2	Houston Dynamo	Vancouver, British Columbia
9:30 PM CDT	Vite 1' Gressel 18', 59',  41' White 46' Laborda  70' Córdova  79' Berhalter 88' Gauld 90+5'	Report	Baird 8' Bassi 16' Quiñónes  69' Carrasquilla  69' Clark  84'	Stadium: BC Place Attendance: 13,232 Referee: Mark Allatin

St. Louis City SC v Houston Dynamo

June 3 15	St. Louis City SC	3–0	Houston Dynamo	St. Louis, Missouri
7:30 PM CDT	Löwen 9' Blom  45+5' Ostrák 51' Jackson  69' Gioacchini 83' Alm  90+1'	Report	Caicedo  45+2' Carrasquilla  45+5' Franco  45+7' Bartlow  78'	Stadium: Citypark Attendance: 22,423 Referee: Joseph Dickerson

Houston Dynamo v Los Angeles FC

June 10 16	Houston Dynamo	4–0	Los Angeles FC	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Quiñónes 11' Bassi 50' Clark  53' Baird 69',  81' Escobar  79', 89'	Report	Cifuentes  32'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 15,366 Referee: Alex Chilowicz

Los Angeles FC v Houston Dynamo

June 14 17	Los Angeles FC	0–1	Houston Dynamo	Los Angeles, California
9:30 PM CDT	Biuk  22' Sánchez  27' Opoku  79' Palacios  89'	Report	Micael 23' Clark  64' Artur  76' Sviatchenko  90+2' Baird Steres  90+3'	Stadium: BMO Stadium Attendance: 22,177 Referee: Guido Gonzalez Jr.
Note: Originally scheduled for April 29, match was rescheduled due to Los Angeles FC's participation in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League.

Houston Dynamo v San Jose Earthquakes

June 21 18	Houston Dynamo	4–1	San Jose Earthquakes	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Bassi 3' Baird 5' Sviatchenko  37' Úlfarsson 77', 89' Herrera  86'	Report	Ebobisse  38' Akapo Bouda  50' Judson  67' Yueill  81' Skahan  85'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 14,249 Referee: Ismir Pekmic

Austin FC v Houston Dynamo

June 24 19 Copa Tejas	Austin FC	3–0	Houston Dynamo	Austin, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Finlay 22' Zardes 32' Gallagher  39' Wolff  45' Cascante 50',  77' Pereira  68' Lima  75'	Report	Sviatchenko  31' Artur  45+5' Herrera  77'	Stadium: Q2 Stadium Attendance: 20,738 Referee: Victor Rivas

Seattle Sounders v Houston Dynamo

July 1 20	Seattle Sounders	1–0	Houston Dynamo	Seattle, Washington
9:30 PM CDT	Cissoko  18' Baker  54' Rusnák 67'	Report	Micael  61'  62' Caicedo  89' Sviatchenko  90+4'	Stadium: Lumen Field Attendance: 31,840 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

Houston Dynamo v Sporting Kansas City

July 8 21	Houston Dynamo	2–2	Sporting Kansas City	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Aliyu 45+2' Úlfarsson  49' Herrera  50' Franco 90+8' Ferreira  90+10'	Report	Pulido 25', 62' (pen.) Rosero  65' Leibold  90+11'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 16,489 Referee: Nima Saghafi

Houston Dynamo v Minnesota United

July 12 22	Houston Dynamo	0–3	Minnesota United	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Micael  68' Escobar  90+1'	Report	Hlongwane 15' Pukki 20' Tajouri-Shradi 87'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 11,855 Referee: Marcos de Oliveira

Colorado Rapids v Houston Dynamo

July 15 23	Colorado Rapids	0–0	Houston Dynamo	Commerce City, Colorado
8:30 PM CDT		Report	Ibrahim  30' Quiñónes  45+1'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 16,138 Referee: Filip Dujic

Houston Dynamo v Portland Timbers

August 20 24	Houston Dynamo	5–0	Portland Timbers	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Bassi 5' (pen.) Quiñónes 11' Baird 14' Escobar  22', 45+3' Dorsey  45+4' Smith 63'	Report	Zuparic  45+1' Evander  89' Araujo  90'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 12,670 Referee: Marcos de Oliveira

Real Salt Lake v Houston Dynamo

August 26 25	Real Salt Lake	0–3	Houston Dynamo	Sandy, Utah
8:30 PM CDT	Chang  50' Julio  63'	Report	Baird 9' Steres 29' Carrasquilla 75'	Stadium: America First Field Attendance: 21,471 Referee: Alex Chilowicz

Houston Dynamo v Columbus Crew

August 30 26	Houston Dynamo	2–0	Columbus Crew	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Baird 14' Dorsey  58' Carrasquilla  81' Sviatchenko  87' Ibrahim 90'	Report	Cheberko  4' Zawadzki  71'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 10,873 Referee: Jair Marrufo

LA Galaxy v Houston Dynamo

September 2 27	LA Galaxy	0–0	Houston Dynamo	Carson, California
9:30 PM CDT	Edwards  34'	Report	Steres  38' Caicedo  55' Quiñónes  64' Artur  90+8'	Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park Attendance: 20,035 Referee: Armando Villarreal

Houston Dynamo v St. Louis City SC

September 16 28	Houston Dynamo	1–1	St. Louis City SC	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Sviatchenko  8' Escobar  22' Herrera  25' Baird 42' Carrasquilla  61'	Report	Blom  34' Klauss 87' Parker  90+5'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 14,369 Referee: Ismir Pekmic

Houston Dynamo v Vancouver Whitecaps

September 20 29	Houston Dynamo	4–1	Vancouver Whitecaps	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Herrera 13' Kowalczyk  30' Sviatchenko  36' Dorsey 44',  52' Baird  49' Micael  60' Franco 73' Ibrahim 84'	Report	Raposo  2' Perea  24' Sviatchenko 90' (o.g.)	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 13,866 Referee: Fotis Bazakos

Sporting Kansas City v Houston Dynamo

September 23 30	Sporting Kansas City	2–1	Houston Dynamo	Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 PM CDT	Russell 7' (pen.),  39' Radoja  34' Agada 45+6' Thommy  73' Rosero  89' Sallói  90+6'	Report	Escobar  45+1' Hadebe 45+9' Dorsey  74' Caicedo  83'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 18,033 Referee: Chris Penso

Houston Dynamo v FC Dallas

September 30 31 Texas Derby	Houston Dynamo	0–0	FC Dallas	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Hadebe  8' Franco  29' Carrasquilla  71' Herrera  84'	Report	Tafari  41'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 18,175 Referee: Ismail Elfath

CF Montréal v Houston Dynamo

October 4 32	CF Montréal	1–1	Houston Dynamo	Montreal, Quebec
6:30 PM CDT	Piette  33' Lappalainen 90+6'	Report	Artur 10' Ibrahim  18' Bartlow  56' Carrasquilla  62' Quiñónes  84' Escobar  90+3' Baird  90+3'	Stadium: Saputo Stadium Attendance: 13,509 Referee: Ramy Touchan

Houston Dynamo v Colorado Rapids

October 7 33	Houston Dynamo	5–1	Colorado Rapids	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Quiñónes 3', 28' Bassi 8' Baird 41' Dorsey  48' Artur 84'	Report	Bassett 53',  63' Abubakar  57' Priso  86'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 16,430 Referee: Tori Penso

Portland Timbers v Houston Dynamo

October 21 34	Portland Timbers	1–3	Houston Dynamo	Portland, Oregon
8:00 PM CDT	Chará  66' McGraw  74' Mora 80'	Report	Dorsey 11', 71' Micael  41' Escobar  42' Carrasquilla  45+4', 48' Herrera  67'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 25,218 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

MLS Cup Playoffs

Main article: 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs

Round One

Houston Dynamo v Real Salt Lake

October 29 Game 1	Houston Dynamo	2–1	Real Salt Lake	Houston, Texas
5:00 PM CDT	Herrera 22' Bassi 79' Escobar  90+5' Carrasquilla  90+7'	Report	Oviedo  44' Luna 54' Julio  82'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 17,508 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.

Real Salt Lake v Houston Dynamo

November 6 Game 2	Real Salt Lake	1–1 (5–4 p)	Houston Dynamo	Sandy, Utah
8:00 PM CST	Glad  27' Ojeda  33' Vera  52' Savarino 70'	Report	Clark  16' Bassi  17', 28' Dorsey  48' Carrasquilla  69' Sviatchenko  71'	Stadium: America First Field Attendance: 20,251 Referee: Fotis Bazakos
	Penalties
	Arango Kreilach Savarino Vera Luna		Bassi Carrasquilla Úlfarrson Dorsey Quiñónes

Houston Dynamo v Real Salt Lake

November 11 Game 3	Houston Dynamo	1–1 (4–3 p)	Real Salt Lake	Houston, Texas
3:00 PM CST	Baird  20', 28'	Report	Savarino  46' Luna 65' Arango  66' Vera  72'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 16,374 Referee: Chris Penso
	Penalties
	Carrasquilla Úlfarrson Bassi Quiñónes Dorsey		Arango Rubin Luna Vera Musovski
Note: Houston Dynamo won the series 2–1.

Conference Semifinals

Houston Dynamo v Sporting Kansas City

November 26 Conference semifinals	Houston Dynamo	1–0	Sporting Kansas City	Houston, Texas
6:00 CST	Escobar 39' Carrasquilla  69'	Report	Leibold  78'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 20,319 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.

Conference Finals

Los Angeles FC v Houston Dynamo

December 2 Conference finals	Los Angeles FC	2–0	Houston Dynamo	Los Angeles, California
8:30 CST	Hollingshead 44' Escobar 80' (o.g.)	Report	Escobar  45+3' Herrera  71'	Stadium: BMO Stadium Attendance: 22,221 Referee: Victor Rivas

U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2023 U.S. Open Cup

Tampa Bay Rowdies (USLC) v Houston Dynamo (MLS)

April 26 Third Round	Tampa Bay Rowdies (USLC)	0–1	Houston Dynamo (MLS)	St. Petersburg, Florida
6:30 PM CDT	Dennis  21' Antley  65'	Report	Hadebe  37' Raines 44' Baird  76'	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 1,956 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

Houston Dynamo (MLS) v Sporting Kansas City (MLS)

May 10 Round of 32	Houston Dynamo (MLS)	1–0	Sporting Kansas City (MLS)	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Úlfarsson 12' Gasper  35' Dorsey  87'	Report	Espinoza  10' Sallói  90+3'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 5,094 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

Houston Dynamo (MLS) v Minnesota United (MLS)

May 23 Round of 16	Houston Dynamo (MLS)	4–0	Minnesota United (MLS)	Houston, Texas
7:30 PM CDT	Baird 33' (pen.), 68', 89' Caicedo  82' Ibrahim 79'	Report	Arriaga  30'  38' Boxall  67'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 2,947 Referee: Ramy Touchan

Chicago Fire (MLS) v Houston Dynamo (MLS)

June 6 Quarterfinals	Chicago Fire (MLS)	1–4	Houston Dynamo (MLS)	Bridgeview, Illinois
7:30 PM CDT	Pineda  21' Souquet 40' Navarro  62' Giménez  63' Burks  90'	Report	Bassi 12' (pen.) Ibrahim 31', 59' Quiñónes 74' Gasper  89'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 7,512 Referee: Marcos De Oliveira

Houston Dynamo (MLS) v Real Salt Lake (MLS)

August 23 Semifinals	Houston Dynamo (MLS)	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Real Salt Lake (MLS)	Houston, Texas
8:30 PM CDT	Dorsey  22' Herrera  38', 45+5' Carrasquilla  93', 105' Artur  118' Caicedo 120+5'	Report	Vera  38'  119' Arango  59' Julio 64' Eneli  67' A. Gómez  72' Glad  106' Palacio 114'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 11,137 Referee: Lukasz Szpala

Inter Miami (MLS) v Houston Dynamo (MLS)

September 27 Final	Inter Miami (MLS)	1–2	Houston Dynamo (MLS)	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
7:30 PM CDT	Kryvtsov  16' Allen  19' Yedlin  32' Martínez 90+2'	Report	Escobar  12' Dorsey 24' Bassi 33' (pen.)	Stadium: DRV PNK Stadium Attendance: 20,288 Referee: Jon Freemon

Leagues Cup

Main article: 2023 Leagues Cup

South 2 Group Stage

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ORL	HOU	SAN
1	Orlando City SC	2	1	1	0	0	4	3	+1	5	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–1	—
2	Houston Dynamo FC	2	0	1	1	0	3	3	0	3			—	—	—
3	Santos Laguna	2	0	0	1	1	4	5	−1	1			2–3	2–2	—

Source: Leagues Cup
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Orlando City SC v Houston Dynamo

July 21	Orlando City SC	1–1 (5–4 p)	Houston Dynamo	Orlando, Florida
7:30 PM CDT	Jansson  45+4' Gallese  45+4' McGuire 46' Torres  64' Angulo  89'	Report	Bassi 45+5' (pen.)	Stadium: Exploria Stadium Attendance: 14,005 Referee: Filip Dujic
	Penalties
	Kara Santos Jansson Carlos Torres		Herrera Úlfarsson Carrasquilla Dorsey Smith

Houston Dynamo v Santos Laguna

July 25	Houston Dynamo	2–2 (5–4 p)	Santos Laguna	Houston, Texas
7:00 PM CDT	Baird 14' Dorsey 26'	Report	Preciado 45', 62' (pen.),  64' Vergara  65' Cervantes  79'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 12,627 Referee: Ismael Cornejo
	Penalties
	Bassi Úlfarsson Franco Smith Caicedo		Brunetta Preciado Dória Torres López

Knockout Stage

Houston Dynamo v Pachuca

August 2 Round of 32	Houston Dynamo	0–0 (5–3 p)	Pachuca	Houston, Texas
8:00 PM CDT	Artur  53' Herrera  60' Escobar  63'	Report	Rodríguez  62' Castillo  68' Sánchez  69' Cabral  71'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 10,438 Referee: Edgar Allan Morales Olvera
	Penalties
	Úlfarsson Quiñones Herrera Dorsey Caicedo		Cabral I. Hernández Sánchez Figueroa

Houston Dynamo v Charlotte FC

August 7 Round of 16	Houston Dynamo	1–2	Charlotte FC	Houston, Texas
9:00 PM CDT	Baird 10' Escobar  90+5' Ibrahim  90+6'	Report	Agyemang 80' Micael 81' (o.g.) Byrne  84'	Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Attendance: 9,188 Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere

Player statistics

Appearances, goals, and assists

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Total			MLS			Playoffs			U.S. Open Cup			Leagues Cup
				Apps	G	A	Apps	G	A	Apps	G	A	Apps	G	A	Apps	G	A
2	DF		Franco Escobar	41	3	1	28	2	1	5	1	0	4	0	0	4	0	0
3	DF		Brad Smith	21	1	2	18	1	2	3	0	0	4	0	0	2	0	0
4	DF		Ethan Bartlow	32	0	1	27	0	1	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0
5	DF		Daniel Steres	28	2	2	26	2	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
6	MF		Artur	47	2	1	34	2	0	5	0	0	4	0	1	4	0	0
7	FW		Iván Franco	33	3	4	26	3	3	0	0	0	3	0	1	4	0	0
8	MF		Amine Bassi	42	15	8	28	10	4	5	2	0	5	2	4	4	1	0
9	FW		Sebastián Ferreira[a]	13	0	0	11	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW		Corey Baird	48	14	8	34	8	6	5	1	0	5	3	2	4	2	0
12	GK		Steve Clark	41	0	2	33	0	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
13	GK		Andrew Tarbell	8	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	1	0	0
14	FW		Beto Avila[a]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	DF		Djevencio van der Kust[b]	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
16	MF		Héctor Herrera	44	6	21	30	4	17	5	1	2	5	1	1	4	0	1
17	DP		Teenage Hadebe	16	1	0	12	1	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
18	FW		Ibrahim Aliyu	37	6	4	24	3	3	4	0	0	5	3	1	4	0	0
19	MF		Charles Auguste	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
20	MF		Adalberto Carrasquilla	38	4	11	25	3	8	5	0	1	4	1	1	4	0	1
21	FW		Nelson Quiñónes	41	5	4	28	4	2	5	0	1	5	1	0	3	0	1
22	DF		Tate Schmitt	5	1	0	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	FW		Ifunanyachi Achara	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	DF		Mujeeb Murana	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
25	DF		Griffin Dorsey	33	5	3	19	3	2	5	0	0	5	1	0	4	1	1
27	MF		Luis Caicedo	37	1	0	25	0	0	2	0	0	6	1	0	4	0	0
28	DF		Erik Sviatchenko	30	0	1	17	0	1	5	0	0	4	0	0	4	0	0
30	DF		Chase Gasper	8	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
31	DF		Micael	37	1	0	24	1	0	5	0	0	4	0	0	4	0	0
32	MF		Juan Castilla[b]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	MF		Sebastian Kowalczyk	9	0	1	8	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	FW		Danny Ríos[a]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	FW		Thorleifur Úlfarsson	28	4	1	18	3	1	3	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0
35	MF		Brooklyn Raines	10	1	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0
38	GK		Xavier Valdez	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	DF		Talen Maples[c]	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0

Source: Season statistics and match reports in Competitions

1. Loaned out during the season
2. Transferred out during the season
3. Short term loan from Houston Dynamo 2

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Total		MLS		Playoffs		U.S. Open Cup		Leagues Cup
2	DF		Franco Escobar	16	0	11	0	2	0	1	0	2	0
4	DF		Ethan Bartlow	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	DF		Daniel Steres	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	MF		Artur	8	0	6	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
7	FW		Iván Franco	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	MF		Amine Bassi	2	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW		Sebastián Ferreira	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW		Corey Baird	6	0	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
12	GK		Steve Clark	5	0	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
16	MF		Héctor Herrera	11	2	8	2	1	0	1	0	1	0
17	DP		Teenage Hadebe	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
18	FW		Ibrahim Aliyu	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
20	MF		Adalberto Carrasquilla	13	0	9	0	3	0	1	0	0	0
21	FW		Nelson Quiñónes	5	1	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	DF		Tate Schmitt	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	DF		Griffin Dorsey	10	0	7	0	1	0	2	0	0	0
27	MF		Luis Caicedo	7	0	6	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
28	DF		Erik Sviatchenko	8	0	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
30	DF		Chase Gasper	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
31	DF		Micael	7	1	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	MF		Sebastian Kowalczyk	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	FW		Thorleifur Úlfarsson	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Source: Season statistics and match reports in Competitions

Clean sheets

No.	Nat.	Player	MLS	Playoffs	Open Cup	Leagues Cup	Total
12		Steve Clark	12	1	0	1	14
13		Andrew Tarbell	1	0	3	0	4
Total			13	1	3	1	18

Source: Player Stats and match reports in Competitions

Honors and awards

MLS Team of the Matchday

Week	Player	Position	Ref.
4	Héctor Herrera	MF	[45]
5	Artur	Bench	[46]
7	Franco Escobar	DF	[47]
	Amine Bassi	FW
9	Daniel Steres	DF	[48]
11	Steve Clark	GK	[49]
15	Héctor Herrera	MF	[50]
18	Franco Escobar	DF	[51]
	Héctor Herrera	MF
	Brendan Burke	Coach
20	Thorleifur Úlfarsson	FW	[52]
	Héctor Herrera	Bench
24	Héctor Herrera	Bench	[53]
27	Franco Escobar	DF	[54]
	Adalberto Carrasquilla	Bench
	Corey Baird	Bench
28	Ibrahim Aliyu	Bench	[55]
29	Héctor Herrera	MF	[56]
33	Griffin Dorsey	DF	[57]
	Héctor Herrera	MF
	Ben Olsen	Coach
37	Nelson Quiñónes	FW	[58]
	Héctor Herrera	Bench
38	Griffin Dorsey	DF	[59]
	Adalberto Carrasquilla	Bench

Annual

Honor	Player	Position	Ref.
MLS All-Star	Héctor Herrera	MF	[60]
MLS Best XI			[61]

Dynamo team awards

MVP	Defensive Player of the Year	Newcomer of the Year	Young Player of the Year	Players' Player of the Year	Ref.
Héctor Herrera	Steve Clark	Artur	Nelson Quiñónes	Héctor Herrera	[62]